The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Douglas wrote the article that I have just read?

Mr. PRINCE. Yes, sir; and I wrote the other one.

The CHAIRMAN. The article which you wrote is headed, "Mrs. Wheatcraft discusses methods used in working up women's organization for Senator Watson; tells of 'poison squad.' Were the statements contained in that article correct?

Mr. PRINCE. They are.

The CHAIRMAN. What did this lady say to you with reference to her methods of working through the "poison squad"? How did she organize that squad?

Mr. PRINCE. She had been discussing the work that she had done in the May Senatorial primary for Senator Watson, and went into detail explaining to us how she had placed an organization in each of the 13 congressional districts in Indiana, in the 92 counties of Indiana, and in the 3,551 precincts in Indiana. I called her attention to the fact, being familiar with Indiana conditions, that it had been the talk that in return for Senator Watson's help in the Mayfield matter the klan had placed an organization into each one of the 3,551 precincts. She denied that she had anything to do with the klan, but she admitted that she had built this organization for the Senator, and went so far as to say that of these 10 women that were placed in each precinct, 1 of them was to be used for telephoning and 1 for musical programs, 1 for meetings, and 1 for looking after the babies of the other women while they were busy in the campaign; then she told us, in discussing some of her enemies, that she had a great many enemies in the Republican Party that were seeking to hurt her and injure her, but there was one thing that they could not take away from her, and that was a little black book which she had that contained the names of five women in each county. She said, "Some folks may call it a propaganda unit, but I call it my poison squad. Within 12 hours they will butter the State with any information that I will give them." The lady was very kind and gracious to us and invited us both to luncheon and dinner, which we declined, and before the interview closed we asked her, as we always make it a practice to do, was there any part of this talk that she wanted us to regard as confidential, and she said, "Use your own judgment." We returned to the office, made our notes and compared them, and found that we did not disagree. Mr. Douglas wrote his story in his room at the Athletic Club and I wrote mine in the office of the Indianapolis Times. We looked them over, and the stories were published. Within 48 hours after they were published Mrs. Wheatcraft, who was then in Portland, Me., sent a denial through the Associated Press, in which she denied these remarks, but she did not sue us for libel or for defaming her in any way for publishing the remarks.

The CHAIRMAN. What did she say, if anything, of the objects of this poison squad? What were they to disseminate?

Mr. PRINCE. After she had made the statement about the poison squad, Mr. Douglas made reference to the fact that the Italian campaign in the World War had been defeated at Piave through a defeatist propaganda that the Germans put out in the form of "Whispering Women," and Mrs. Wheatcraft listened very intently to what he said, and said, "That's it-victory by gossip."

The CHAIRMAN. Did she tell you what stories they were putting out?

Mr. PRINCE. She did not.

The CHAIRMAN. Is that substantially all that was said in this interview?

Mr. PRINCE. That, together with some matters that pertained particularly to the State of Indiana, that I included in my interview, that Mr. Douglas did not use, as was of international interest. The CHAIRMAN. What were they?

Mr. PRINCE. Well, there is a question in that article-let me see it. I would like to call your attention to it. We had been discussing the fact that so many women had appeared on Senator Watson's expense account in small sums, although Miss Barker received a little over $2,000 for her work in the 60-day period, and we had been discussing the fact that that seemed to show that the women were not interested in politics for the love of the game; that they had to be paid; and at that time Mrs. Wheatcraft said, and I made a note of the fact, that Senator Watson was big, and good, and kind, but, "He is no sheik." In other words, she tried to bring out the point that the women working for him had to be paid.

The CHAIRMAN. You did not get from this lady, then, any statement as to the character of the talk they were putting out about opposing candidates?

Mr. PRINCE. No sir; she seemed to be very proud of the fact that she had a poison squad in each county that was loyal to her. She said that she would take that book with her when she left Indiana. The CHAIRMAN. I think that is all.

TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM A. S. DOUGLAS

(The witness was sworn by the chairman.) The CHAIRMAN. What is your full name?

Mr. DOUGLAS. William A. S. Douglas.

The CHAIRMAN. Where do you reside, and what is your business? Mr. DOUGLAS. I am a reporter for the Baltimore Sun.

The CHAIRMAN. The Baltimore Sun?

Mr. DOUGLAS. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you live in Baltimore?

Mr. DOUGLAS. I live in Chicago right now, but my home is in Baltimore, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. What paper are you with now?

Mr. DOUGLAS. The Baltimore Sun; in charge of the Chicago bureau, morning and evening Sun.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you know Mrs. Wheatcraft?

Mr. DOUGLAS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Did you ever interview her?

Mr. DOUGLAS. I interviewed her on the 16th of August last, in company with Mr. Prince. I happened to be down in Indiana writing politics, going into the campaign funds of Senators Watson and Robinson, and I happened to go down to English in the southern part of the State to go over Senator Watson's campaign fund, which was around $21,000. There is nothing in that; but I noticed that

there were women getting money, $10, $20, $30, and $40; nothing very big, but about on every other line there was a women's name; and it struck me that there might be something in it, so I came back to Indianapolis and told Mr. Prince, and he agreed with me that it was a big story in the Watson campaign, with so many women in it, and I had suggested that we go and see Mrs. Wheatcraft and talk to her about it. He said that she had charge of the women's organization; and we went down there, and from that interview I wrote this story for the Baltimore Sun which was copied in the Indianapolis Times and a great many other papers.

The CHAIRMAN. That is the story that I read, in part?
Mr. DOUGLAS. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. I did not read all of it.

Mr. DOUGLAS. That is the story.

The CHAIRMAN. Aside from the story, and matter of your own recollection, what did Mrs. Wheatcraft say about her activities?

Mr. DOUGLAS. She told me and Mr. Prince that she worked for Mr. Watson not only from the fact that he paid her, but because she had a great deal of respect for him; that he was kind, honest, and true, and not a "Sheik;" and she made it plain that Watson paid her for her services. She had been on Senator Watson's pay roll, I think, for more than a year before he filed for the primary. I thought then that I had him on that, but I didn't. She was the vice president of the Republican Campaign Committee of the Women's Division but she resigned the day before he filed the notice, which left them within the law. Then she carried on with him until the election day, and then the next day after election went back to the campaign committee. She drew, I think, during these two months something like $2,300 or $2,400. She told us her salary was $50 a week, but we figured it up that she was drawing around $800 a month. Then she went on to describe how she had organized these women in the counties and precincts-substantially what Mr. Prince has said about the poison squad.

The CHAIRMAN. Give it in your own language.

Mr. DOUGLAS. She said, "I have a little black book that nobody can take away from me." I asked her what that was and she said, "Some people call it "I forget just the name that she used"propaganda, but I call it my poison squad." And then she said, "Nobody can take this book from me, and when I go from here I take it with me;" to mean, we understood, that she had this organization built up and that it was her personal organization to deliver to whomsoever she wanted to. That was my inference.

The CHAIRMAN. What was this poison squad to do?

Mr. DOUGLAS. Well, five women in each county were to spread whatever propaganda she wanted spread in that county and do it within 12 hours. I took it that it was political propaganda.

The CHAIRMAN. Was there anything said about scandal? Mr. DOUGLAS. Nothing, except so far as the word "poison." The CHAIRMAN. Was this expression used, or was it not, and I am going to read from this article, not to lead you but to refresh your recollections. [Reading:]

Mrs. Wheatcraft was reminded of the "Whispering women of the Piave" whose defeatist propaganda crushed the Italian war strategy in 1917. "That's the secret," she laughed, "Victory by gossip."

Mr. DOUGLAS. Yes, sir; that's what she said.

The CHAIRMAN. Those are her words as you set them up here in quotations? Are those her exact words?

Mr. DOUGLAS. Absolutely, sir. I brought on the subject of the "Whispering women at Piave," and I brought up that subject by stating to her about the Germans sending on the women in the 1917 campaign in Italy; that is, women of loose virtue were behind the lines, and by whispering the story defeated the Italian war strategy. And she said, "Yes; that's the thing. Victory by gossip."

The CHAIRMAN. After you had this interview, where did you go to write your story?

Mr. DOUGLAS. To the Indianapolis Athletic Club, sir. I took my

notes.

The CHAIRMAN. How soon after?

Mr. DOUGLAS. Immediately, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Had you taken notes during the interview?
Mr. DOUGLAS. Copious notes.

The CHAIRMAN. Did you have any conference with Mr. Prince before you wrote your story?

Mr. DOUGLAS. No, sir; after I wrote my story I went to the club and he went to his office, and we both wrote stories, and we made an arrangement to meet for luncheon. We met together, and I took his copy and he took mine, and with the exception of a few adjectives or adverbs and a few things like that our stories were essentially the same.

The CHAIRMAN. Did you ever receive a denial of this story?

Mr. DOUGLAS. Yes, sir; Mrs. Wheatcraft denied the story through the Associated Press-denied it all over the country-and my managing editor, Mr. Reynolds, wired me. He wanted me to write something regarding the story, and I wrote about two paragraphs describing in as few words as I could exactly what happened, and laying particular emphasis on what she denied about the poison squad. That came unsolicited by Mr. Prince and myself; but about the "Whispering women of Piave," that was suggested by myself, in which she agreed by saying, "Victory by gossip." She hasn't done anything yet as I know of. If I had lied or Mr. Prince had lied, she could have brought suit for and obtained damages from the Baltimore Sun and the Indianapolis Times.

The CHAIRMAN. Did she go into Maine?

Mr. DOUGLAS. She left for Maine the next night, sir. That would be the next night, sir; that would be on a Tuesday.

The CHAIRMAN. She went to Maine?

Mr. DOUGLAS. Yes, sir; to campaign for the congressional organization of the national campaign committee.

The CHAIRMAN. And do you know anything about her whereabouts or activities then?

Mr. DOUGLAS. I understand she went from Maine after the primary was over there, and went to Oklahoma, and then from Oklahoma I believe she is campaigning in your State right now.

The CHAIRMAN. In whose employ do you understand her to be now, since she left Indiana?

Mr. DOUGLAS. The National Republican Campaign Committee. She is going to work for Mr. Woods.

The CHAIRMAN. And who is Mr. Woods?

Mr. DOUGLAS. Mr. Woods is chairman of the national campaign. The CHAIRMAN. Did she tell you that in the interview?

Mr. DOUGLAS. After the interview was over. It wasn't in the interview, but she mentioned the fact as we left the room.

The CHAIRMAN. That she was in the employ of Mr. Woods and was going to Maine?

Mr. DOUGLAS. Yes, sir; going to see Mr. Woods first in Washington, and then going to Maine.

The CHAIRMAN. I think that is all.

TESTIMONY OF FREDERICK J. LIBBY

The witness was sworn by the chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. What is your full name?
Mr. LIBBY. Frederick Joseph Libby.

The CHAIRMAN. And your place of residence?
Mr. LIBBY. Washington, D. C.

The CHAIRMAN. How long have you lived in Washington, D. C.?
Mr. LIBBY. Since October, 1921.

The CHAIRMAN. Where did you live before you went to Washington?

Mr. LIBBY. At Exeter, N. H.

The CHAIRMAN. Were you born there?

Mr. LIBBY. NO; I was born in Richmond, Me.

The CHAIRMAN. What were you doing Mr. Libby in Exeter, N. H. Mr. LIBBY. I was on the staff of the Phillips Exeter Academy there for nearly seven years.

The CHAIRMAN. In what capacity?

Mr. LIBBY. I was teaching Bible and a little mathematics and languages.

The CHAIRMAN. You left that position and went to Washington? Mr. LIBBY. Not directly

The CHAIRMAN. Where did you go?

Mr. LIBBY. I was employed by the American Friends Service Committee in relief work in Europe and in India.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the American Friends Service Committee? Mr. LIBBY. The American Friends Service Committee is an organization made up largely of members of the Society of Friendsmade up fully of members of the Society of Friends-for the purpose of carrying on relief work.

The CHAIRMAN. The Society of Friends is a Quaker organization, is it not, as its name indicates?

Mr. LIBBY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Where is it located?

Mr. LIBBY. In Philadelphia; No. 20 South Twelfth Street.
The CHAIRMAN. Is that an old organization?

Mr. LIBBY. It was organized during the war.

The CHAIRMAN. For relief work, or what?

Mr. LIBBY. First, for reconstruction work in France, and later on for reconstruction work and feeding of the children in the various countries of Europe.

The CHAIRMAN. Work somewhat similar to the Red Cross work? Mr. LIBBY. More similar to the American Relief Association.